Manufacturing lattice frames



July 6, 1965 I J. BARBOU 3,

MANUFACTURING LATTICE FRAMES Filed Sept. 24, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. JACQUES BARBOU,

Kg 5 v ATTORNEVS.

July 6, 1965 J, BARBQU 3,192,963

mnumcwnme 1.4mm: FRAMES Filed Sept. 24, 1962 2 Sheets-Shet 2 INVENTOR JACQUES BARBOU,

BY I i F M ATTORNEYS- United 1 States Patent 3,192,963 MANUFACTURING LATTICE FRAMES Jacques Barhou, Paris, France, assignor to Soeiete Davnm, Villeneuve-la-Garenne, Seine, France,,a corporation of France Filed Sept. 24, 1962, Ser. No. 225,791 Claims priority, application France, Get. 27, 1961,

877,308 25 Claims. (Cl. 140-112) This invention relates to a method and apparatus for manufacturing lattice frames for reinforced concrete girders. a I

Framesfor reinforced concrete girders, comprising longitudinal frame members connected bya lattice, are well known. Many kinds are available, having similar characteristics and, therefore, substantially an equivalent quality. a

it can be realized, therefore, that the only improvements that can be brought to this kind of frame would be in its method of manufacture.

From the entirely manual fabrication, still used in many construction yards, many mechanical procedures have sprung, for the purpose of facilitating the work of the Workers and to reduce its importance.

Various mechanical procedures are already known, allowing the mechanical construction of the lattice, which is then hand secured to the longitudinal frame members of the frame. However, these methods, therefore, still require considerable hand work, which weighs heavily on the cost.

It is an object of this invention to provide a method for the quick manufacture of complete frames by an entirely mechanical procedure, the only manual labor being, during normal operation of the method, the handling of the materials used and of the finished product.

it can be seen immediately that such a method results in a substantially higher output and a considerably lower cost. Among other-advantages, it allows the industrial manufacture of prefabricated whole frames of any desired size.

The method of the invention consists in, after having,

if necessary, straightened out the materials that will form frame members and the lattice tie, moving the frame members, step by step, each step being equal to the distance separating two consecutive points at which the lattice is thereto fixed and moving the lattice material a distance equal to the length of the lattice as measured between two consecutive fixed points on one frame member and the intermediate fixed point on the other frame member; fixing said lattice to said members at the points of contact; and cutting the frame obtained to the desired lengths. 1

According to one particular form of the invention, the method consists of placing onto reels the spooled materials to be used for the fabrication of the frame members rotary movement of about one-quarter of a turn, said means forming said last named element into a triangular shape and twisting it at the apex of the triangle, so as to form a flat, perpendicular to that of the linker tie, which flat defines the width of the baseof the link; to guide the elements to a welding station, where the frame members Patented July 6, 1965 are welded to the apices of the triangular lattice; guid- 1ng the continuous frame thus made to a saw automatically cutting said frame to any desired length, as determined by a system of appropirate control stops- The spooled materials intended to form the frame members can be steel'wire "or ribbon. The wire can be round or any other cross section.

The ribbon can be cold shaped into a V or U by rolling means usingwheels, which means is located between the straightening means and the forming mechanism.

The welding is preferably done by electrode grippers.

The machine for practicing the preceding method includes a straightening means, preferably using opposed wheels, of known type, giving the steel wires a straight shape; if necessa y, a series -of wheels or rollers cold shaping the ribbon to a V or U cross section; grippers mounted on carriages moved longitudinally back and forth by rods, whereby the wires and ribbons are advanced, step by step; a piston system moving transversely back-and-forth and rotatable and provided, at one end, with a forked nose, between the tongs of which the wire constituting the lattice is held, then pushed by the piston to form a triangle and, simultaneously, to be twisted ap proximately 90; a welding station having as many electrode grippers as the frame has frame members; a sawing stat-ion having a circular saw that automatically advances under electrical control of relays actuated by switches operated by the endless band formed by the frame, said switches being located at two positions in the path of the frame, the first causing the saw to start up and the second causing the saw to advance and saw the frame to the desired length.

The piston forming the lattice may receive a to-and-fro transverse movement from a jack or from a rotary screw means, and its 90' rotational movement through means of a helical slot provided in the sleeve guiding the piston and a finger provided on said piston and sliding in said slot.

One embodiment of the invention, given by way of example, and not in limitation thereof, will now be described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which? FIGURE 1 schematically shows thetop view of the apparatus;

FIGURE 2 shows the top view of the subcombination that automatically forms the lattice of the frame;

:FIGURE 3 is a detail view showing how the lattice is formed; 1

FIGURE 4 shows a cross-section of a link;

FIGURE 5 showsa portion of the frame as manufactured by the apparat-usof the invention. 7

The machine to be described is intended for manufacturing frames for concrete girders, which girders comprise two round steel wires constituting the stress bearing base frame under tension; a ribbon, of U cross section, constituting the upper frame member under compression; and a lattice of round steel wire bentso as to form v a succession of triangular links or ties that secure the different frame members. a

For the particular frame just described,'the apparatus includes three spools 1, 2, and 3, carrying the round steel wires 4, 5, and 6, and a spool 7, carrying the spooled ribbon 8. The steel wires 4 and 5 can be smooth, notched, or

- wide and 2 mm. thick.

snszsas equipped with a gripper, rolls on the rails.

Obviously, the number and arrangement of the frame members, their nature and characteristics can be varied in accordance with the span of the individual girder and the strength it must have.

First of all, wires 4, 5, and 6 pass through a series of opposed straightening wheels 9, of known kind, or of any other kind. Ribbon 8 is simply guided alongside this means.

On the other hand, ribbon 3 is cold rolled by a series of shaping rollers 16 for the purpose of giving it a V or U shaped cross section. Steel wires 4, 5, and6 are simply guided past the rollers.

Next, the apparatus has a mechanismfor driving, step by step, the wires 4, 5, and 6 and the ribbon 8 and for forming the triangular links of the lattice from steel wire 6. Quite obviously, this part is the very heart of the machine, and requires detailed description.

The embodiment of this mechanism of FIGURE 2 is given by way of example, and not in limitation thereof.

First of-all, the mechanism includes means for intermittently driving the steel wires and the ribbon. The mechanism includes a frame 11 having end plates 12 and 13 fixed therto. Two parallel horizontal rails 14 located in the same horizontal plane and two parallel horizontal rails 15 located in the same vertical plane are disposed between said side walls.

A carriage 16 rolls on rails 14 and carries two grippers 17 and 18. Steel wirs 4- and 5 respectively pass through 2 A vertical carriage 19 rolls on rails 15 An arm 27, connected by a rod 28 to a crankshaft 29 on shaft 39 carrying pulley 33., is fixed to shaft 23. Pulley 31 is connected by belt 32 to another pulley 33 keyed to a hollow shaft 34, which latter can be coupled to motor shaft 35 through a clutch means 36 of any known kind.

revolving in bearings 33 carried by the frame of the apparatus. Lever 39 located at the far end of the shaft, actuates shaft 37.

The output shaft 49 of a speed reducer 41, coupled to an electric motor 42, extends to the clutch means 36. Shaft 49 passes through hollow shaft 34. e

To the right of carriages l6 and 119 are rigidly secured two plates 41a and 42a to frame 11. Two horizontal rails This clutch means is operated by a longitudinal shaft 37 43, 44 are mounted between these plates. A carriage 45, .v

6, which forms the lattice of the frame, passes through the grippers.

Carriage 45 is connected by rod 47 to fork 43 keyed to shaft 23.

Steel wire Pulley 49, connected by belt 50 to pulley 5i that is keyed to shaft 52 revolving in bearings 53, is keyed to shaft 3-0. At one end, shaft 52 carries a mitre gear 54 meshing with another such gear 55 keyed to one end of.

shaft 56.

This shaft is supported by a series of bearing means 57 the jaws of grippers 17, 18, 2t and 46 to close.

Since hollow shaft 34 is coupled with motor shaft 40, pulley 33, which is carried by shaft 34, drives pulley 31 through belt 32 and, therefore, shaft 39. The latter, through crankshaft 29, drives rod 28 connected to fork 43 of shaft 23. For this reason, the latter rotates first in one direction and then in the other, thereby causing rods 21, 25, and 47 and carriages 16, 19,, and 45 to move to-andfro.

At the same time, shaft 36, through pulley 49, belt 59, and pulley 51, rotatively drives shaft 52 at a speed corresponding to the frequency of the alternating movement of the carriages. By means of gears 54, 55, shaft 52 drives shaft 56 and cam 58 at the same speed. The cam periodically operates the piston of master cylinder 61, causing Thus, it will be seen that steel wires 4, 5, and 6 and structural member 3 are, at that moment, seized by the grippers and driven by the respective carriages. The length of the advance depends on the separation between the axis of shaft 23 and the pivoting. point of rods 21, 25, and 47 on arm 22 and forks 26 and 48, respectively.

It will be seen immediately that steel wires 4 and 5 and structural member 8 must always advance the same distance, while carriage 45 drives steel wire 6 through a distance corresponding to the length of any one of the triangular links formed therefrom.

Cam 58 is keyed on shaft 56, whereby to free the jaws of the grippers after each advance and to allow them to be drawn back, ready to seize the steel wires and structural member anew, for the next advance.

Tho carriages 64 and 65 slide freely on rails 43, 44. These carriages are inter-connected by two rods 66, 67 that pivot on a disk 68 that pivots about a fixed vertical axle 69, whereby the two carriages move the same distance but in the opposite direction, on either side of the axle.

Carriage 64 is continuously urged backwards by a spring 70 mounted on rail 43 and pressing, on the one hand, against an adjustable stop '71 fixed to the rail and, on the other hand, against an arm 72 rigidly fixed to the carriage. The rearward movement of carriage 64 is limited by another adjustable stop 73 fixed to rails 43, 44. It can be seen that the maximum separation between the carriages is dependent on this rearward movement, and that the relative movement between the carriages is always symmetrical, thanks to disk 68 and rods 66, 67.

Carriage 64 carries a gripper controlled by arm 74 pivoting about axle 75 under the control of a rail 76 fixed .to the piston-rod of a hydraulic control cylinder 77.

Similarly, carriage 65 carries a gripper con-trolled by an arm 78 pivoting about axle 79 under the control of rail part 80 fixed to the piston-rod of hydraulic cylinder Cylinders 77 and 81 are respectively connected by lines 82, 83 to master cylinders 84, 85, whose pistons are actuated, as in the case of master cylinder ,61,by rods 86, 87 controlled by earns 83, 89 keyed to shaft 56 and causing pivoting levers 90 and 91 to oscillate.

Shaft 56 is provided with a crankshaft 92, to which is jointed a rod 93 connected by a universal joint 94 (or other similar means) to piston 95 sliding in a sleeve 96 fixed to the frame.

Sleeve 96 has a slot 97 comprising two rectilinear portions joined by a helical portion. A pin 98, fixed to piston 95, slides in slot 97.

Theend of piston 95 is equipped with a nose 99 in the shape of a fork, between the tongs of which the wire 6 passes to be formed into the triangular tie or link of the kind desired.

The operation of the forming means will now be explained.

It is necessary to suppose that no tie or link has yet been formed and that a suitable length of wire 6 has been brought to the forming station by carriage 45, as pre viously explained.

At this moment, spring 70 holds carriages 64, 65 at the maximum spacing permitted by stop 73. Cams 88, 89 then cause the jaws of grippers 74, 78 to close and pins 74a, 78a, projecting from the jaws of grippers '74, 78, are placed against wire 6 on the other side of piston 95, as shown in continuous line in FIGURE 3. Immediately afterwards, crankshaft 92 pushes piston 95, whose nose 99 takes hold of wire 6, which, held by pins 74a, 78a, bends under the thrust in the direction of arrow f causing carriages 64, 65 to be drawn toward each other.

When pin 98 of piston 95 slides along the helical portion of slot 97, this portion causes the piston to turn on its axis, whereby nose 99 twists the wire in the very position where the bending of the wire has already been largely completed. When piston 95 has reached the end of its travel, pin 98 is in the final straight part of the slot; and a twist of approximately 90 has been formed at the apex of the triangle, shown in dot-dash line in FIGURE 3. Carriages 64, 65, drawn along by pins 74a, 78a of their grippers during the" shaping of wire 6, are then in their closest position; and the pins have been brought to positions 74a and 78a.

Crankshaft 92 then withdraws piston 95, disengaging nose 99 from the formed link or tie and moving it outside of the path of the second bend 6a of the link.

Grippers 74, 78 are next opened by master cylinders 84, 85 controlled by earns 88, 89, while cam. 58 causes the other carriage grippers to seize and advance the wires At this moment carriages 64, 65 are withdrawnto their extreme positions by spring 70.

Carriage 45 advances wire 6 a sufficient length to form a link, grippers 74, 78 once again grip, and pin 78a is positioned just behind the second bend 6a of the link just formed.

, The sequence of steps is repeated and a continuous band lattice is thus produced.

It is necessary to observe that the flexibility of the lattice permits the links already formed to be drawn backwards, when the following links are formed. It is sufficient to leave an adequate space between the forming station 11 and the welding station 100 that follows.

This latteristation has guide means for holding steel wires 4, 5 and structural member 8 in contact with the angles of the links of the lattice. Electrode grippers 101, 102, and 103, of any known type, 'spot weld, in .a known manner, these elements, whicharedriven in synchronism with the material advancing arrangement, by any desirable means.

The continuous or band frame B thus produced is guided over, step by step, opposite a circular 'saw 104-,

is welded to the end of the corresponding used-up material.. Shut-downs are thus considerably shortened.

It is obvious that the invention, of which only a single embodiment has been described, admits of many'modications that would inevitably result fromfchanges in the kind of framing elements forming the frame. The apparatusdescribed allows the construction of frames comprising a latticeconstituted of wire 6 (FIGURES 4 and 5), an upper compression framing element consisting of of any'known kind, intended for cutting said frame into 7 variable predetermined lengths.

To this end, frame or band B is guided, after passing by the saw, to a very long horizontal bench 105,.in front of which is a frame 106 for receiving the cut frame.

During its step by step advance, the end of the band reaches a first switch 107, causing either the motor of saw 104 to be switched on or else putting the shaft of the saw into engagement with the shaft of a continuously operating motor. Switch 107 is located at a distance from the saw a trifle less than the desired length of the band, in order to permit the saw to reach operating speed.' The saw is caused to advance by a second motor controlled by a relay excited through a second switch 158 located structural member 8, and a lower tensionframing element consisting of two round steel wires 4, 5, whose spacing depends on spread e between the two legs of the link or tie. This spread e is equal to the diameter of nose 99 of piston 95 (FIGURE 3). The nose, of course, is removable, and can be replaced by others of different diameters. By increasing spread e it is obviously possible to use three or more frame members under tension.

Various modifications inform and detail of theapparatus, without departingfrom the'spirit and scope of the invention, are possible through suitable application of the method.

What is claimed is: p

1. The method of producing lattice frames for reinforced concrete girders; supplying lengths of material, wherefrom to form the lattice andthe frame members, there being at'least'one lattice member and one frame member and as many lengths ofmaterial as there are members; gripping the material of said at least oneframe member during predetermined intervals and releasing said material during other intervals; gripping the material of said at least one lattice member during predetermined intervals and releasing said material during other.- intervals; moving said materials from first position to second positions while said materials are gripped,,the separation of said first and second positions of the material of said at least one frame member beingequal to the distance separating two consecutive contact points on the same frame member, between said at least one member and said at least one lattice member, and the separation between said two positions of said at least one lattice member being equal to the amount of material necessary for the said at least one lattice member to span the distance between said two consecutive contact points; and shaping the ma terial of said 'at least one lattice member, whereby to form a lattice by gripping said lattice material by spaced gripping means, engaging a substantial length of said' lattice material between said spaced gripping means by an engagement means, moving the said engagement means in a direction transverse the axis of said lattice material to bend said lattice material-into a shape responding to the sides and top of a trapezoid, and rotating said engagement means through about whereby to position the top of said trapezoid in a direction-substantially nor mal to thesides of said trapezoid, and whereby to form said lattice material into a shape which in end elevation appears, triangular; securing said. at least one lattice member to said at least one frame member; and repeating said series of steps, thereby producing a continuous lattice frame. i 60 '2. The methodof claiml, wherein said step of shaping includes drawing together said two spaced gripping means as said lattice material is bent; releasing said grip of said gripping means and said engagement of said engagement ,means after said lattice materialis bent, whereby the 4. The method of claim 3, wherein said lattice frame is cut after said securing step.

5. The method of claim 4, straightening a portion of at least some of said lengths before they are gripped.

6. The method of claim 4, in which one of said lengths is a ribbon; forming said ribbon to a desired cross'sectional shape before it is gripped.

7. Apparatus for manufacturing lattice frames for reinforced concrete girders: a plurality of first gripping means for separately holding the material to be made into the lattice frame; second means for automatically operating said first means during pre-determined intervals; means for automatically advancing said first means during said pre-determined intervals, at least one of said first means being advanced farther than the others, and for returning said first means to their original position; means for opening said first means during said return; a set of two spaced gripping means cooperatively associated with each of said at least one of said first means, the gripping means of said set being free to move in equal and opposite directions; and means for automatically actuating said set upon release of said grippers cooperatively associated therenormal to the long axis of the lattice element; and means I for continuing the operation in automatic, timed sequence, so as to produce a continuous lattice frame.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, in which said means for automatically forming includes third means located substantially at the center of the distance separating said set, for grasping the material held thereby; fourth means for automatically imparting to said third means a movement in a first sense, whereby said material is shaped, and a movement in a second sense, whereby to withdraw said third means; fifth means for opening said set, whereby one forming cycle is finished.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, in which said first sense and said second sense include rotation in first and second directions respectively, whereby the shaping of the material includes twisting.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, in which said fourth means includes a guide. means for said fourth means, a slot in said guide means, means guided by "said guide means and connected to said third means, and pin means in said means guided by said guide means, for engaging said slot.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, including fifth means for actuating said fourth means.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, in which said fifth 'means is a rotating crankshaft.

8 rection of the material held thereby; sixth means rotatably mounted between said first carriage means; and linking means respectively connecting said first carriage means to opposite sides of the rotational axis of said sixth means.

16-. The apparatus of claim 15', including piston means operating said first means and said set and controlled by said cams.

17. The apparatus of claim 7, including seventh means for automatically securing said formed lattice to the frame.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, including seventh means for automatically securing said formed lattice to the frame.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, including cutting means for automatically cutting said continuous lattice frame to the desired length, said cutting being located after said seventh means.

20. The apparatus of claim 7, including eighth means for straightening out at least some of said material, said eighth means being positioned before said first means.

21.- The apparatus of claim 7, including ninth means for imparting a desired cross sectional shape to at least one of said materials, said means being positioned before said first means.

22. The apparatus of claim 16, including second shaft means turning said cams; and drive means for driving said first and second shaft means.

23. The apparatus of claim 11, in which said fifth means is a disc-crank means.

24. The method of producing triangulated lattice elements for lattice frames for reinforced concrete girders which comprises gripping a rod-like element by spaced gripping means, engaging a substantial length of said rodlike element between the gripping means by an engagement means, moving the said engagement means in a direction transverse the axis of said rod-like element to 'bend said element into a shape responding to the sides -of starting a cutting means into motion, and thereafter bringing said cutting means into cutting contact with said lattice frame at a predetermined point in the length of said lattice frame.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 340,578 4/86 Heysinger -71 1,951,810 3/34 Shaffert 189-37 2,624,430 1/53 Macomber l89-37 2,792,852 5/57 Talbot et al. 140-71 3,027,920 4/62 Payne et a1 l4071 FOREIGN PATENTS 212,962 l/58 Australia.

CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner. 

1. THE METHOD OF PRODUCING LATTICE FRAMES FOR REINFORCED CONCRETE GIRDERS: SUPPLYING LENGTHS OF MATERIAL, WHEREFROM TO FORM THE LATTICE AND THE FRAMES MEMBERS, THERE BEING AT LEAST ONE LATTICE MEMBER AND ONE FRAME MEMBER AND AS MANY LENGTHS OF MATERIAL AS THERE ARE MEMBERS; GRIPPING THE MATERIAL OF SAID AT LEAST ONE FRAME MEMBER DURING PREDETERMINED INTERVALS AND RELEASING SAID MATERIAL DURING OTHER INTERVALS; GRIPPING THE MATERIAL OF SAID AT LEAST ONE LATTICE MEMBER DURING PREDETERMINED INTERVALS AND RELEASING SAID MATERIAL DURING OTHER INTERVALS; MOVING SAID MATERIALS FROM FIRST POSITION TO SECOND POSITIONS WHILE SAID MATERIALS ARE GRIPPED, THE SEPARATION OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND POSITIONS OF THE MATERIAL OF SAID AT LEAST ONE FRAME MEMBER BEING EQUAL TO THE DISTANCE SEPARATING TWO CONSECUTIVE CONTACT POINTS ON THE SAME FRAME MEMBER, BETWEEN SAID AT LEAST ONE MEMBER AND SAID AT LEAST ONE LATTICE MEMBER, AND THE SEPARATION BETWEEN SAID TWO POSITIONS OF SAID AT LEAST ONE LATTICE MEMBER BEING EQUAL TO THE AMOUNT OF MATERIAL NECESSARY FOR THE SAID AT LEAST ONE LATTICE MEMBER TO SPAN THE DISTANCE BETWEEN SAID TWO CONSECUTIVE CONTACT POINTAS; AND SHAPING THE MATERIAL OF SAID AT LEAST ONE LATTICE MEMBER, WHEREBY TO FORM A LATTICE BY GRIPPING SAID LATTICE MATERIAL BY SPACED GRIPPING MEANS, ENGAGING A SUBSTANTIAL LENGTH OF SAID LATTICE MATERIAL BETWEEN SAID SPACED GRIPPING MEANS BY AN ENGAGEMENT MEANS, MOVING THE SAID ENGAGEMENT MEANS IN A DIRECTION TRANSVERSE THE AXIS OF SAID LATTICE MATERIAL TO BEND SAID LATTICE MATERIAL INTO A SHAPE RESPONDING TO THE SIDES AND TOP OF A TRAPEZOID, AND ROTATING SAID ENGAGEMENT, MEANS THROUGH ABOUT 90* WHEREBY TO POSITION THE TOP OF SAID TRAPEZOID IN A DIRECTION SUBSTANTIALLY NORMAL TO THE SIDES OF SAID TRAPEZIOD, AND WHEREBY TO FORM SAID LATTICE MATERIAL INTO A SHAPE WHICH IN END ELEVATION APPEARS TRIANGULAR; SECURING SAID AT LEAST ONE LATTICE MEMBER TO SAID AT LEAST ONE FRAME MEMBER; AND REPEATING SAID SERIES OF STEPS, THEREBY PRODUCING A CONTINUOUS LATTICE FRAME. 